The Clippers were unable to topple the Trail Blazers despite a monster effort from Paul George, falling 111-92 in Portland. This was another poor outing by the Clips, who looked out of sorts once again both individually and as a collective team. Keep reading for a full recap of the Clippers’ loss to the Trail Blazers.
Game Summary
After a couple minutes of exchanging misses, the Clippers got hot in a hurry, making one three after another to give themselves an early lead. ON defense, by doubling and hedging the pick and roll against Damian Lillard, they got the ball out of his hands, and were able to contest shots by the Blazers’ big men well enough at the rim to not bleed buckets. However, the Clippers eventually cooled off, and that combined with some turnovers and some stone hands plays by Zu saw their offensive production taper. The Blazers didn’t surge, but continued to chip away, and the Clippers lost the lead in the closing seconds.
The second quarter continued that trend, as the Clippers looked stuck in the mud on offense. They tried to move the ball and attack, but nobody on the court was able to get downhill and create looks for others, resulting in a lot of contested threes, especially late in the shot clock. Fortunately, their defense was stronger, and that combined with some cold Blazers shooting kept the Clips within reach. After a scoring drought that lasted nearly six minutes, Ty Lue brought back Paul George (along with Nic and Zu), and not a moment too soon. George was able to score a couple buckets, but nobody else on the Clippers could hit a three, and Zu continued to struggle finishing. Meanwhile, Damian Lillard got hot on the other end, and the Blazers lead hit double digits. Ty Lue went small the last 4:30 of the half, which did create some room on offense, but also left the Clippers vulnerable on defense and the glass. Fortunately, George singlehandedly kept the Clippers attached, leaving them down just eight at halftime. George, incredibly, scored 22 points on 9-14 shooting in the first half, with his teammates combining for 18 points on 6-31 shooting.
The Clippers’ offense to start the 3rd quarter was abominable, plagued by awful turnovers and horrid shot selection. Fortunately, the Blazers struggled just as much, and for a couple minutes at least, were unable to grow their lead. But as the quarter went along, the Blazers’ offense finally got going, and even a few buckets brought their advantage up to 20 against the lifeless Clips. Finally, Ty Lue brought in his bench, and things switched on a dime. The pairing of Nic Batum and Paul George with the Mann-Hartenstein-Luke trio resulted in strong defense, good ball movement, and actual points, though mostly still by George. The deficit was trimmed all the way to five, but when Nic came out, the Clippers’ defense and rebounding collapsed, and the Blazers pushed the lead back up to nine going into the final frame.
The Clippers’ bench unit + Reggie Jackson grimly held on to start the 4th quarter. Their offense remained bad, but the defense was just good enough to keep them in it. A few offensive rebounds helped, with a nice Mann tip-in and Luke three being the results. After treading water for a couple minutes, Lue came back with Paul George, who did score a couple buckets, but also clearly looked exhausted. With PG running on fumes, and Reggie Jackson misfiring, the Clippers couldn’t get much going on offense. With his final card, Ty Lue went small by re-inserting Batum, but it was too late – the Clippers’ offense didn’t start anyway, and their defense and rebounding suffered. A couple Lillard threes later and it was all over, with the reserves closing the final minutes of the game.
Notes
Paul George, Magnificent: Paul George was spectacular in this one, dropping in 42 points on 15-24 shooting, including 6-9 from three. Two small mars on the record were 6-9 from the free throw line and four turnovers (just about all of them coming to start the 3rd when the game got away for good), but that’s nitpicking. George could not be stopped, and he scored in a variety of ways – catch and shoot threes, pull up threes, midrange jumpers, post turnarounds, and drives to the rim. He looks healthy and ferocious, and it’s been incredible to watch him this season. Unfortunately, he got nearly no help from his teammates – when the Clippers’ starters were pulled, he’d scored 42 of the Clips’ 83 points, or just over 50%. That’s not a recipe for success.
Nic and Luke, Chipping In: The only two other Clippers who get passing grades in this one are Nic Batum and Luke Kennard, Nic for his defense, and Luke for his offense. Nic had 9 rebounds and 3 assists in 26 minutes, and was consistently the lynchpin behind the Clippers’ stops. I know Ty Lue wants to rest him and balance his minutes, but 26 is just too few for him, especially with Kawhi, Morris, and Serge out. Luke, meanwhile, started cold, but got going in the second half, and finished with 16 points on 6-15 shooting, with 4-11 from deep. He was the only other Clipper besides PG in double figures, and really the only one to string multiple made shots together. While his forays inside the line were mostly not great, with the rest of the team so cold, his shooting has been a godsend.
Bled and Reg, Struggling: While Ivica Zubac has been disappointing to start the year, and Terance Mann hasn’t quite lived up to the hype (though still contributing with rebounding and defense), the Clippers’ biggest issues so far have been their starting backcourt. Reggie Jackson and Eric Bledsoe were dreadful again tonight, with Bledsoe getting benched after his stint to start the 3rd quarter (and frankly, Reggie should have been too). They’re taking awful shots on offense, not moving the ball well at all, and haven’t been able to get to the rim or the line consistently. In this one, they shot a combined 4-18 from the field, took zero free throws, and had five turnovers to five assists. Bledsoe’s defense has been quite good, but he’s also had some terrible turnovers, and looks nearly unplayable on offense due to the spacing issues his lack of shooting causes. It’s only five games in, and Ty Lue probably won’t make such a drastic change, but one or both of them should probably be benched for Luke and/or Mann. It’s been bad, and while both will shoot better, these issues we’ve seen, especially from Bledsoe, are ones that aren’t going away.
Coffey over Winslow: One lineup change that did come in this game was the use of Amir Coffey over Justise Winslow as the 9th man in the rotation. Coffey wasn’t great, but he did hit a corner three, had a nice pull-up, and collected five rebounds in 14 minutes. Winslow is the better defender, but the Clippers need offense of any kind, and Coffey at least offers some kind of shooting threat, so I liked the move, and thought Coffey was fine overall.
Well, that about does it for this recap of the Clippers’ loss to the Trail Blazers, 111-92. I don’t want to think about this any longer than I have to, and you all probably don’t either, but leave your comments below!
